It’s the physical. Again.
the New York foodas the San Francisco Giants earlier in the week, raised their concerns Carlos Correaunderwent surgery on his lower right leg, potentially jeopardizing their 12-year, $315 million deal with the star shortstop, according to people briefed on the matter who were not authorized to s express publicly.
The parties could agree to a restructured contract if the Mets continue to express reservations about the long-term stability of Correa’s leg. It could be difficult for the Mets to pull out of the deal altogether after owner Steve Cohen spoke publicly about the deal. It could also be difficult for Correa to re-enter the free agent market and land a comparable contract after two clubs identified the same issue in their physicals of him.
The new developments are the latest twist in a saga that shocked the baseball world when Correa and his agent, Scott Boras, pivoted Wednesday from their original 13-year, $350 million deal with the Giants to strike a separate deal. with the Mets.
Cohen confirmed his apparent coup to the New York Post, saying, “We needed one more thing, and that’s it.” major league baseball warns teams not to comment publicly on pending deals, noting that such remarks could persuade a referee to side with the player in a grievance, a former executive has said.
If the Mets remain uneasy with Correa’s long-term prognosis, one way to change the deal would be to insert language saying parts of the deal won’t be guaranteed if Correa misses some time with a specific leg problem. Boras, however, could fight any attempt to change the deal.
(Wendell Cruz/USA Today Sports)
Correa, who has played 148 and 136 games over the past two seasons, suffered his physique with the Mets on Thursday, Boras said. Teams usually make formal deals the day after the player’s medicals, unless something goes wrong. The Giants were expected to follow precisely that plan earlier in the week.
San Francisco reached its agreement with Correa on December 2. 13. Correa underwent his physical on Monday, and the Giants have scheduled an introductory press conference for Tuesday. But the team postponed the press conference that morning and later confirmed “a difference of opinion on the results of Carlos’ physical examination”.
Correa, 28, had to undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair a fractured right fibula and minor ligament damage after hitting a triple RBI and his tip got stuck on the bag in June 2014 when he was 19 and still in the minor leagues with the Astros. Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said at the time Correa’s fracture was closer to his ankle than his knee.
In eight major league seasons, Correa has never been on the injured reserve list with a right leg problem. He referenced the material in his leg after a match on September 1. 20 in which he appeared to be injured from a hard slide but didn’t run out of time afterwards.
“He just hit my plate,” Correa told reporters. “I had surgery and he hit it. Just a little numb. Vibrant. So I was just waiting for it to calm down. It was a little scary but when I moved I knew it ‘was good.
the Twins medically cleared Correa to a three-year, $105.3 million free agent deal last March, then made him a subsequent 10-year, $285 million offer after he walked out of the deal early of the offseason. Had Correa agreed, the team would have applied more scrutiny to his physique than initially due to the long-term nature of the deal, sources said.
Boras sought to re-sign the Twins after the Giants refused to complete their deal with Correa. But unlike the Mets, who raised $27 million in their first talk with Correa, the Twins were unwilling to back down from their original offer. The Twins also wouldn’t have moved the conversation forward without investigating potential issues caused by Correa’s physique with the Giants, major league sources said.
Boras said Wednesday the Giants informed him they wanted to speak to other doctors before moving forward with Correa, but he was unwilling to wait.
GO FURTHER
Scott Boras: ‘No current issues’ with Carlos Correa’s health as Mets perform physicals
“I said, ‘Look, I gave you a reasonable time. We need to move forward on this. Give me a deadline. If you’re not going to perform, I have to go talk to other teams,” Boras said.
“You are talking about a player who has played eight seasons in the major leagues. There are things in his medical records that happened decades ago. These are all speculative dynamics.
“Every team has the right to go through things and assess things. The main thing is that we gave them (the Giants) medical reports at the time. They still wanted to sign the player and negotiate with the player .
Team medical staff sometimes offer different interpretations of a player’s medical records, just as a doctor giving a second opinion on a patient may disagree with the first. The Mets represent Correa’s second opinion. And they seem to confirm the first.
(Picture: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
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